München / Munich to Zagreb by train

How to travel from München/Munich to Zagreb by train

When travelling by train from München/Munich to Zagreb you can travel during the day on of Europe's most stunning railway journeys, or if the timings don't suit there's also an overnight train available.

Share

Routes

Option 1: travelling on this beautiful journey by day

Travel Information

What had been the direct daytime train between München / Munich and Zagreb has been suspended until further notice.
An EC train still leaves München / Munich in the early afternoon, but it no longer has coaches which travel on to Zagreb, a change of train is required in Villach

The earlier Railjet train to Villach, still has a 10 minute connection in Villach with a train on to Zagreb.
So ShowMeTheJourney is assuming that these connections will be guaranteed, as it will be fairly pointless for the trains on to Zagreb to depart on time, if the trains from München / Munich are running late.
The connection in Villach should be arranged, so that it's a simple as can be cross platform transfer between trains.

2 x connections per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets.

Rail Pass Users:

The reservation rules are different when using a rail pass to travel to Croatia by these trains.

Rail pass users must make reservations prior to boarding, irrespective if you will be using a 1st or 2nd class pass.

Travelling from Munchen Ost station:

When making a booking online on DB Bahn, it uses ‘Munich (München)’ as a default for looking up journeys from the city in the ‘From’ box.
But it is possible to select München Ost as the ‘From’ station (you need to use the German spelling with the character (the umlaut) over the ‘u’).
You won’t save any money by booking from München Ost, but the departure time of your train from Munchen Ost will be on your ticket.

Booking agents, when looking up Munchen to Zagreb journeys, will see that the fastest journey from Munchen is from Munchen Ost - so can assume that this is where you want to join the train.
If you're using an agent confirm whether your ticket has been booked from Munchen Hbf or Munchen Ost - particularly if you DO want to join the train at Munchen Hbf.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €45 approx

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLandscape (Hills / Mountains)

Good to Know

Final Destination Klagenfurt

This train which will will typically depart from München Hbf at around 08:00 is a Railjet and the train which departs at around 11:30 is an EC train.

The Railjet train does not call at München Ost but the EC train also departs from there, usually at around 11:45.

After the train has departed from Salzburg this is a fantastic journey, but the best of the views, particularly after Bad Gastein, are from the right of the train, when facing the direction of travel.

This can be a journey where travelling 1st class can pay off, as you'll have more freedom to move from one side of the train to the other, to make the most of the trip.

Between Salzburg and Bad Gastein (from the left) Between Salzburg and Bad Gastein (from the left)
Departing from Bad Gastein Departing from Bad Gastein
Between Bad Gastein and Villach (from the right) Between Bad Gastein and Villach (from the right)
Between Bad Gastein and Villach (from the right) Between Bad Gastein and Villach (from the right)
Between Bad Gastein and Villach #2 Between Bad Gastein and Villach #2
Between Bad Gastein and Villach #4 Between Bad Gastein and Villach #4

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLandscape (Hills / Mountains)River views

Good to Know

Final Destination: Vinkovci or Zagreb

The earlier connection train will typically arrive in Zagreb between 17:00 and 17:15, the later train will arrive there at around 20:45.

Option 2: taking an overnight train

Travel Information

This train, which is named the 'Lisinki' is scheduled to depart from Munchen Ost and not from the city's main station at 23:54 and it schedule to arrive in Zagreb Glavni Kolod. station at 08:36.
It now commences its journey in Stuttgart Hbf at 20:59 and also calls in Ulm and Augsburg.

If you wake early there are some wonderful views of The Sava River valley gorge, as the train heads towards Croatia.

Though as the landscape this train will be travelling through is spectacular for pretty much the entire journey, we highly recommend travelling this route on the daytime train.

1 x train per night

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

This train is provided by Croatian Railways (HZ) and is named 'Lizinski'.

It comprises:

- Compartment Seats 
- Couchettes; 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins

Click the train button above for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:

Using rail passes:

Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.

If you want to reserve seats, berths in couchettes or beds in the sleeping cabins before you arrive in Germany, the best option is to pay a booking fee and use the Eurail or InterRail reservation services.

Or you can avoid the booking fees by arranging the reservations when you arrive in Germany, by purchasing them at a Reisezentrum travel desk, which you will find in any hauptbahnhof.

Though it's best to do this at the first hauptbahnhof (city centre station) that you will arrive at, the later you leave booking your accommodation, the more likely it is that your preferences will be sold out.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB *

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:

  • For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
  • Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
  • Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
  • Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.

When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).

On this journey

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

At Munchen Hbf station, on the departure screens, you may only see a train leaving at 23:34 that's heading to Budapest if you do, that info will also be for this train.

The coaches heading to Zagreb are joined to the train heading to Budapest on departure from Munchen Hbf.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge
hand-money

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

Help keep us advertising and paywall free!

Donate

This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.

We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.

Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.

So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.

See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
Leaving From
Going To
ShowMeTheJourney

This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.